Missing Ore. mom caught on video before vanishing
DUNDEE, Ore. -- An Oregon mother whose disappearance has sparked a massive search was captured on surveillance video filling up her car at a gas station July 24, the evening of her disappearance, police said Monday.
Jennifer Huston, 38, of Dundee, Ore., left her home around 5:45 p.m. that day, Newberg-Dundee Police Captain Jeff Kosmicki said at a press conference. She was first seen on video at a bank around 6 p.m. withdrawing money, Kosmicki said.
Kosmicki said they have "good video" of Huston at the bank, though they haven't yet released it.
At around 6:10 p.m., Huston was captured on surveillance video filling up the family's 1999 Lexus SUV at a gas station. Minutes later, between 6:20 and 6:25 p.m., her cell phone was turned off, Kosmicki said.
No one has seen her since.
In the days since she vanished, police have worked to develop a timeline and follow up on the tips that are coming in, Kosmicki said. Meanwhile, friends and family are posting missing signs in the area. They've also set up a "Find Jennifer Huston" Facebook page, which has garnered more than 28,000 "likes."
At the press conference Monday, her husband Kallen said the disappearance was "totally unlike" his wife, a mother of two young boys.
"She's a devoted mother," Kallen Houston said in an emotional statement. "She's just a very good person. For her to do something like this is completely out of the norm."
Kallen Huston asked those in the area to look in backyards and along the side of the road for his wife's car.
"Her car is very large and it would wipe out any shrubs, or potentially small trees," Kallen Huston said. "I have a feeling she's in a ditch somewhere."
Police are treating the case as a missing person investigation, reports CBS affiliate KOIN.
"As of this time there is no known criminal nexus to this case nor is there any known threat to the public," police said in a press release, reports the station.
The Hustons have experienced financial hardships in recent years, reports KOIN, citing court documents. Neighbors the station spoke with characterized the Hustons as a loving family, and police said Kallen Huston has been interviewed and is cooperating with police.
At the press conference, Kallen Huston said his wife had been experiencing headaches for three days before her disappearance.
Jennifer Huston is about 5-feet-7, of average build, with shoulder-length blond hair and blue eyes. Her Oregon license plate is WXH011.
Anyone with information is urged to call the Dundee Police Department at 503.538.8321.
